For Forever, For Eternity
by SingfortheMoment
Summary: Sequel to Lost Promises. He's gone. She doesn't know what to do. A letter brings back everything she lost. Oneshot


A/N: Okayyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy! So I'm like finally back! Like I heard what you guys said about the sequel thing, and I decided to do it. And I'm so happy for all those wonderful reviews and I appreciate every single one of them. And you guys really liked it so much...wow, I'm honored! Hope you like the sequel, not as good as the original, but you know, it never really is. Like you know the times when like you read an amazing story or watch like a real real real so cool movie, and like the sequel is crap. Like you want to watch it, or read it as the case may be, and then you see it and you're like, "That was a piece of crap, I just wasted my time." Like its the most annoying thing in the world. Except for Spiderman (the movie), that sequel was like better than the original. Ok, so like back on to topic. So here it is, enjoy! R& R, love y'all!

Disclaimer- I don't own any of the characters in this story besides Chris, Meghan, and the tall imposing dude. But like I know that I could never own Hermione or Draco because their characters are so intricate that like they couldn't possibly be mine. Enjoy the story!

* * *

For Forever, For Eternity

"Ddddrraco…?" Hermione questioned, closing her eyes once again, willing he was an illusion. Some kind of sick twisted joke.

"It's me, Hermione. I'm back. I got your letters" a small smile played on his lips, hope glistened in his eyes.

"You, you…" she pointed a finger at him unsteadily, dizziness swimming before her eyes

"Yes, Hermione, me" his eyes danced merrily, not noticing the danger signs flashing over her usual serene, tranquil face

"No" she shook her head violently, "You're not back. Not after three years. No, you're not real. You're somebody drinking polyjuice potion, no…You can't be here. I'm getting married in November, no…no…" she put a hand to her head and muttered to herself, disbelief flashing her every feature

"Hermione, I'm back!" he ran over to her, attempting to hug her, wishing she would take him back after so long

"No" she pushed him back forcefully and stood up, "You are not back here after three years! I wrote to you every month! You never wrote back, you never came back until now, why now!" fiery sparks emitted from her amber eyes

"Hermione, you don't understand!" he bent down on one knee as if to beg her forgiveness

"I understand everything Draco!" a frown formed on her face, tears threatened to fall from her liquid eyes, "You left me, and never came back until now! You can't do this to me just as my life is coming together again!" she left her mouth open, not knowing what to say, "Out! Get out of my house, get out of my life!" her decision was made, he was not going to ruin her life again.

"Hermione…" he closed his eyes, his blonde hair shook as he walked up to her once again

"Don't Hermione me!" she took a step back, "I told you to get out! Get out." her finger, never wavering, pointed firmly at the door

"Listen-"he threw his head back, _Why wouldn't she take him back?_

"No, you listen, "her eyes turned stone cold, "I told you to get out of my house, now get out" she looked down ashamed but her finger stayed put.

"Hermione, fine I'll get out, just give me a chance to explain!" his silver eyes begged partial forgiveness if not whole; buts she would have none of it

"Draco" her voice turned soft, but then unimaginable harsh again, "No! You can't! I'm not taking this anymore! Just get out! I'm calling the police" she picked up the phone

"Please, Hermione. Just listen!" his eyes turned to an almost blue as tears surrounded his vision

"GET OUT!" she screamed out of frustration as a tear rolled down her cheek, "Just get out…" she looked down once again.

Accepting defeat, Draco walked, his shoulder sagging heavily, out the door.

As the door closed with a thud, Hermione broke down. She sobbed. She cried all of the tears that were absent since her engagement. She let out all the tears that were absent from her letters. She cried all the tears of pain a broken heart can feel. She accepted all the tears of confusion a young girl can have. Her eyes were swimming in the waters of their own creation. All the while muttering one word over and over again, the one word that changed everything: "Draco"

As the days past, Hermione's mind rarely traveled over the present. All of her thoughts were occupied with a past that could have been, if _he_ hadn't have left. Her mind was occupied by his memory, by his sudden, haunting visit. _Where was he now? What had he been doing for three years? Why did he come back?_

While Hermione's mind wandered, she did her daily routine out of habit. She got up, went to work, went out to dinner with her fiancé, all without her presence of mind. When questions were asked, she answered them shortly, straight to the point. While all the time thinking of _him_. She analyzed every word that he said that night. Her mind replayed it all the time. Each time concentrating on his hand gestures, or the way his eyes danced, or the way his face lost all of its passion and light when she forced him out.

Her memory brought back those precious five minutes so many times, she started imagining things that he said or did. Swearing that he did it but at the same time contradicting them herself.

As the days past, she rarely ate anymore. She preferred to play around with her food instead. Taking the occasional bite but not even tasting what she put in her mouth. Others noticed this, but she shrugged it off. Saying she was just fine. Soon she couldn't even bring herself to sit down at the table, to actually put the food on her plate to play around with.

Even her interests were taking a toll on her mindset. The old Hermione used to sit at night (when not out) and read, her eyes shining with delight as she turned another page. The new Hermione preferred to sit in her dark room and cry until there were no tears left. Her world was slipping away from her. Her grasp was becoming weaker. What was once controllable and manageable was not out of control and impossible.

The walls she placed around her heart came crashing down. It was the second time he had done this. The second time she was left hurting and broken while he was left apparently unscathed. He hadn't been burned by the passionate, licking flames of love. He hadn't been swallowed by love's crashing waves. He remained bobbing on the surface while Hermione was pulled deeper and deeper into the depths of no return. He had won in the game of love once again.

* * *

Two months passed and Hermione seemingly forgot about Draco. Her story being told to no one, she pushed it farther and farther into the back of her mind. It was a distant memory now; something that happened years ago to somebody else.

She had healed. But her heart healed in a very brittle way. She had hardened though. She was harder than she ever was. Putting all her effort into everything she tried. But she still weak. On the outside she appeared strong. Hermione could appear to be never hurt. But she knew different. One word about Draco from anyone else and she would fall. Faster and wilder than she ever did before. So everyday was a show. She was an actress in a never ending play. A play that would last the rest of her life.

Hermione knew her choices. But she chose ignorance over knowledge. She did not want to know where Draco Malfoy was. She did not want to know he existed. So this was the way Hermione lived her life for the next five years. She lived through five years of happiness; five years of never knowing that he was around the corner. That he was hoping beyond hope that she would sought him out, and live happily ever after with him by her side. She never did, until it was too late.

* * *

_Knock, knock_

A knocking sound on Hermione Shipman's office door woke her up from her stupor. She had been daydreaming again-this time of her Hogwarts days. _Oh what lies they were, _she thought sullenly. Nothing prepares you for life after school, nothing. Her eyes wandered over to the pictures on her desk. They were mainly of family and friends: Harry, Ron, Ginny, her husband Chris, her two year old daughter Meghan. She smiled when she thought of her daughter. Her daughter with her honey colored curls and her adoringly bright green eyes, and her delicate, soft features so much like her own. She smiled once more as her eyes settled on the picture of her and her husband. The picture was taken the previous year. It was one of her and Chris sharing an innocent kiss on the beach. She loved her husband's light brown hair, and his carefree smile. He was so-

_Knock, knock_

"I'm coming" she muttered to herself as she opened the door. A tall man with crisp, black robes strode into her office. As he walked she couldn't help but notice his imposing look and sharp features.

"Ah hem" he said suddenly, gruffness lining his voice.

"Oh, sorry, please" Hermione said, shaking her head, all her happiness from moments before gone from her face. The man held out a personal looking letter.

"Are you Miss Hermione Granger?" he asked as his eyes narrowed suspiciously, looking over her unruly curls and uncommonly small frame.

"Well no, I mean…I was. I got married five years ago. It's _Mrs._ Hermione _Shipman_" he cheeks reddened considerably, _Who did she know that didn't know _she_ was married?_

"Well yes" he continued briskly, "My client left this" he held out the letter once again, "In my possession before he died. It says specifically in his will to give this to you after he passed on" Hermione reached out to take the letter, her curiosity getting the better of her, "But first" he took the letter back and scowled, "You have to sign this document" this time he held out an official looking piece of parchment.

"Ok…" she nervously fidgeted back to her desk to get a quill, his abruptness and cold stare making her uneasy. Finding her favorite eagle feathered quill she took the document and skimmed its contents briefly before signing it. Then, eagerly taking the first letter from his hands, she made a motioning sign so the man should leave her alone to read her letter. He complied and silently left her office.

As she sat back down at her desk, she ran a hand over the aging green parchment. Only one person she knew used green parchment, but it couldn't be him, it just couldn't. She saw her name in manly script on the front, _his_ script. _No…it wasn't. He wasn't. Was he? Oh god no! It couldn't be! But_ she got a grip on herself, _I have to open it before I decide anything._

She broke the delicate seal on the parchment and her eyes flooded to the bottom "Draco X. Malfoy" Her heart stopped as her thoughts wandered aimlessly. She put her hand over the name, willing it to go away. But it wouldn't, it was spelled out in deep black ink. Ink that would never erase; binding forever to the parchment for which it was first put. In an attempt to make it right, she threw down all her picture frames. She was betraying them, every last one of them. She bit her lip, "Is this right?" was all she could muster out loud before closing her eyes.

Letter in hand, she recklessly looked around. Her chair clanging to the ground as she stood and the door knocking shut behind her she apparated to a near by park. Oblivious to her surroundings of laughing children and screaming mothers she blindly walked around. She banged into trees, benches, and the occasional pole. With tears in her eyes Hermione sat down on the grass, not caring about her clothes that she carefully set out that morning. Opening up her aged letter once again, she took a deep breath. Finally succeeding to halfway calm her rapid breaths and self induced earsplitting heartbeats she opened her eyes and started to read the words of the person that tore her world apart.

_Dear Hermione,_

_If you're reading this, it means that I did the inevitable. It means that I claimed my own life in a desperate attempt for happiness in the dead of another lonely night. I swear to you now that if I am dead, it was not by another. I died with my own hand. Before you go on though, and read the rest of this letter, I swear to you that I love you. You are my one and only true love, and I never meant to hurt you. I love you forever, Hermione. I'll love you to the end of my time on earth and beyond. The stars will shine during daylight when I stop loving you. And you are the star of my life._

_I guess you'll want an explanation though, for my absence. Three years ago when I left you, my purpose was to return. I needed to know what happened to my father. I needed to kill him before I could be truly happy. How I think about that decision now, it was made so quickly, so rashly. I now know that I was only truly happy with your love. I didn't think it would take so long to track him down; apparently he hid himself well. I started to write you back when your letters came. But then I thought of my cause, my need to destroy the man I so despised. You were too good for my love. You would shun my ideals; laugh at my need to kill._

_On all those lonely nights spent in caves, I read and reread your letters. They kept me alive when I was desperate for this life to end. They made me see that somebody out there needed me, loved me even. But then your later letters made me see what I'd become. I became selfish in my quest. You were slipping away when I needed you the most, but all because of me, because of a decision that I made. So I put up my quill to write again, but an invisible force stopped me. The need to find and kill my father was more urgent than it ever was. So, I sped things up, hoping to return to you._

_I'm sorry I didn't return until it was too late. I thought you would take me back. I was wrong, Hermione. I should have come back earlier. I'm sorry for all the pain I caused you. I never wanted to hurt you. I never meant to hurt you. That last thing I wanted to do was cause you heartache. The very same heartache that was plaguing me as well. But that was actually the first thing I did. You should never have pain again, I wish you that._

_But what I failed to mention in this letter was that I didn't regret a thing. I missed you the whole time; my heart was broken to be away from you, but I needed to do it. My world would be incomplete without doing it, but because of it my life was incomplete without you. The irony of it._

_Just know, Hermione. On the days when things just aren't going right, and you feel all fucked up, you have a guardian angel. You have someone up in heaven smiling down at you. I'll protect you forever, Hermione. Don't forget. And never give up, Hermione. Never do what I did. I took the coward's way out. You're stronger than me, Hermione. You always were and you always will be. Your love was too good and pure for me. Remember that, Hermione, remember that._

_Perhaps someday you'll forgive me, Hermione. Perhaps some day you'll see that I loved you. If you're reading this letter, that means I'm no longer here. Maybe now you'll forgive me. Maybe now you'll know I love you. I'll love you forever, Hermione. Even though you're probably married now, and have a family of your own, I love you. Forever and ever, Hermione. Don't forget me, please. Keep me in your heart for as long as you live. I did. And I'll love you as long as the stars shine happily above us. _

_With love to the stars and beyond,_

_Draco X. Malfoy_

Tears were streaming silently down her cheeks. Her heartbeat was pounding loudly in her chest. Her throat was closed up from her sobs. She was choking.

Looking around, Hermione realized life was still going on. Life was going on while Draco, her Draco, was dead. He was lying in a grave somewhere but nobody knew. Nobody knew that the life of one so precious was gone. And most of all, nobody cared. All that cared was a girl, a wife, a mother, but more importantly, a lover long ago; the very person who sold her heart to the man himself.

As if in a trance, a tear stained Hermione stood up and looked towards the heavens. In her eyes was that same light strictly reserved for _him._ Reserved for Draco. The name rolled softly off her tongue, sweetly. The name glistened like the dew on the morning grass. It was spoken like an angel's name, pure, white.

"Draco…"

She didn't hurry his name. She let it linger on her lips. Almost instinctively, she put her hand on her heart; letting herself feel the hole he left in her heart long ago close up. The hole that had been buried behind false memories and feelings. She took a deep breath, summoning her love from beneath the surface. A smile played on her lips, she could finally let go.

After all of those years, she was free. She loved him with all her heart, but he was only a happy memory now. She cherished her time with him, her first love; she was so young then. Draco taught her to look past the surface, look past everything, just feel. To forget about what she thought fit, to listen to her heart. He was the one that showed her how to love someone fully, to let her heart be guarded by someone other than herself.

Draco didn't hold her prisoner any longer. She could soar on a cloud if she wanted to. Hermione would never forget Draco, no. She would think of him always. But his memory would no longer cause her pain. His memory would make her feel elated. She had forgiven him with all her heart.

Walking back to her office, Hermione let her happiness really fly for the first time in eight years. She looked at everything in a new light. A world moments before that was filled with blacks, and grays, was now filled with reds, and yellows. A new glow made her features shine. Complete peace finally settled on her face.

* * *

An old woman of about eighty-seven lay on a hospital bed. Crowded around her were her children, grandchildren, and the most loving husband a person could hope for. Her face was creased greatly with wrinkles, her hair was as white as the wings of doves, and pain was shooting through her heart. But she was smiling. Hermione Shipman's chocolate brown eyes were as light as the sun in the sky. Her eyes were swimming in tears of bittersweet endings. She knew she was dieing. But she welcomed it. Death was the most natural thing in the world; things that had beginnings always had endings.

"Bye," she whispered hoarsely. But she was sure no one heard her. There was a steady alarm somewhere in the distance. Her pain was a thing of the past. Images of her family and nurses swam in and out of her fading sight. Her wrinkled eyes closed in dizziness, but then opened once again. Her husband's face was stricken with the pain of losing a loved one when she tried to say, _"It's all right, Chris. My time here is done. I'm going to a better place now,"_ but no sound came out.

She could feel herself lifting upward while she left her body behind. Her soul was as beautiful and pure as her seventeen year-old self. She could see all the colors and patterns of life going on below her while at the same time she could see the gates of heaven open above her. They were calling her to their wonderful depths. Everything in the world and beyond worked in harmony.

Hermione really saw life for the first time. She could see why things happened. The puzzle of life was miraculously completed before her very eyes. Everything was a whole in this new state of existence.

Her golden spirit flew upward. The voices of angels were becoming clearer and clearer. The golden gates were shining brighter and brighter. The rainbows were glistening more and more colorful as the moments passed on.

Saying her last goodbyes to life on earth, her soft, bare feet stepped lightly on a cloud. Her golden gown fluttered light around her feet in the gentle breeze of the next world. The cloud was a soft as velvet on her newly created skin. The clear, harmonic voices of angels, who at once sounded more magical than a thousand harps, filled her entire body with song. The song was pure, untainted by life on earth. Hermione's translucent eyes opened in utter delight as the towering gates of heaven opened wide. She slowly made her way into the eternal resting place, not unlike a bride on her wedding day. Time seemed to stop as her feet, barely touching the ground, walked toward a never-ending dream.

Her gold gown turned white as unicorns, as heaven materialized in front of her. Hermione's eyes sparkled as her smile turned as dazzling as the seven wonders of mortal earth. Not hurrying her way at all, she made her way straight, and up a curving staircase of diamonds. The sheer beauty of the place made her wonder if it wasn't just some ethereal dream.

There, at the top of the miraculous staircase, stood a dream._ He _turned around slowly, a smirk like smile hinted upon his pure, unkissed lips as his eyes glistened with the light of fairies. He held out a white glove covered hand that she happily took into her own. She spoke her first words as an eternal spirit of the place that was heaven, "Its eternity, Draco, "he enveloped her into his arms and she whispered gently in his ear, "Do you love me now?" and he placed on her lips a kiss with passion that only separated lovers could feel.

Well, I'll wait till you listen  
I wont say a word  
to follow your instincts  
just never worked for me  
your silent but strong  
and your noticing nothing again

Now I'm lying on the table  
with everything you said  
keeping mind the way that it felt  
when the most I could do was to just blame myself

when the most I could do was to just blame myself  
and I know you know, everything  
I know you didnt mean it

So, we're talking forever  
and you almost feel better  
but, betters no excuse for tonight  
you see, it's never been enough  
just to leave all you gave up  
but, its never good enough to feel right

Now I'm lying on the table  
with everything you said  
it will all catch up eventually  
well, it caught up and honestly  
the weight of my decisions  
were impossible to hold

today we'll never know  
remember more then you'd like to forget

Would you like to forget  
drop everything, start it all over

* * *

A/N- So...what did you think? Was it good, great, crap, not worth your time...tell me what you think! All kinds of feedback requested! And please please please review and tell me! Cuz if you don't, well then I won't know if this story is even good enough to be put on fanfic. And if you're reading and not reviewing, pleeeeeeeeeeeeeease can you?It would make my day so much better!Ok, whatever! See ya!


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